Are there other people like me ? Amazed by their low cost system :)

To be an audiophile, one doesn’t need to have Elon Musk type resources.  You just have to appreciate good sound.  It’s more of a challenge to achieve this with limited resources.  Yes, system matching, synergies, etc matter, but honestly if one spends megabucks on each component the odds are that it will sound good, if not perhaps realizing the full potential of the resources expended.  And while there is a lot of really good sounding mid Fi gear available compared to decades of yore, here it becomes more of a challenge to match components, etc.  The budget audiophiles get sneared at a lot, and there are some eccentrics who play in that corner of the sandbox.  However there are many who really know what they are doing 

So, I love my curated, a.k.a. hodgepodge system. It’s not expensive by high end standards, but I love listening to all genres on it. It’s far from perfect.  I get to hear a lot of high dollar systems through my local audio club, and rarely do I feel any regrets about my own system. Does the 6 figure system feeding a pair of Magicos sound better than my rig? Of course it does. But I can listen to that system, go home, fire up my rig, and still enjoy the music. And that’s why I got into the hobby; because I love music. Sure, I drool over expensive gear and have my Lottery winner’s system all picked out. But when I hear a well recorded tune on my system, I really couldn’t wish for more. I am sure my acoustics aren’t ideal, although my room and a/c power are pretty quiet. Others have heard my system. Some liked it, some didn’t. I couldn’t care less.

I am pretty amazed by how much music can come out of vintage and/or inexpensive gear when you get things out of the way (inside) that make them sound worse.

I am also amazed how inexpensive gear can fulfill an intended purpose: musical wallpaper, surround yourself with something(s) familiar, share a tune, provide a musical upgrade over cheap earbuds, etc.  A rough facsimile of a performance is better than no performance in the "right" situation, provided enough rough burrs are filed off.

Someone who was certain they were satisfied might not be tempted to ask this question.

We are a family and we speak with one another...😊

I am curious about others experience with their relatively low cost system...

I just had Bill Gates on the phone yesterday...Yes he phoned me ...He has read my audiogon posts😉

Guess what ? He just sold his more than one million dollars system and just bought a ridiculously cheaper system valued to 88,000 bucks after reading all my posts , he declared that he understand perfectly now how a well embedded system , mechanically, electrically and especially acoustically is not so much far from a more costlier one... And he confirm to me that psychoacoustics at the end matter as much as gear design price tag...

For sure his one million bucks system was slightly better by design but he decided to use the difference in money with his new 88,000 bucks system to serves and help those who suffer from ..... here i must stay silent about those who need help from him ...😁

Then instead of doubting my level of satisfaction as a poster of Audiogon , because it is a philosophical sophistry anyway to ask someone to doubt himself and doubt his satisfaction and pride because he cannot be supposedly completely satisfied enough because we must compared his system with better system and to the best possible on earth which for sure exist ... 😁

Projecting on me your own motives to speak which are your own doubts about yourself and your system, is pure sophistry at worst; at beast erroneous reading about my arguments : the controls of the mechanical,electrical and acoustical embeddings of any piece of gear in their house/room/ears-brain working dimensions matter as much as the price tags of the gear piece to begin with...

Then audiophile minimal acoustical satisfaction state and threshold exist... I am there... It is enough for me... I am satisfied acoustically ...

Some others as mikelavigne for example are on the maximal acoustical satisfaction state and threshold...I dont doubt his superior state of satisfaction .. ( i know enough to know why he is right ) 😊

Why criticizing me then for saying elementary truth and why doubting my intention here , projecting on me your own unsecurities because you dont really understand what you do...

Acoustics with an "s" rule audio, not price tags...Period...

For me there exist two levels of audiophile experience defined by the same acoustics factors general balance : the minimal threshold or the maximal threshold with the same optimization methods in the two cases in the mechanical, electrical and acoustical working dimensions...

For sure my chinese low cost tube amplifier does not compete with atmasphere superior design...

This does not means that when it is well embedded with right synergy with other pieces of gear it will and must be audio trash ... Not at all ... But it is not at all the maximal acoustic level of experience... But trust me it may be the minimal level of acoustical satisfaction ...

Mechanical, electrical and acoustical basic knowledge work and matter as much as design price tags ...

😊Well said....thanks...

We are happy people and we had done our best to be there ...

So, I love my curated, a.k.a. hodgepodge system. It’s not expensive by high end standards, but I love listening to all genres on it. It’s far from perfect. I get to hear a lot of high dollar systems through my local audio club, and rarely do I feel any regrets about my own system. Does the 6 figure system feeding a pair of Magicos sound better than my rig? Of course it does. But I can listen to that system, go home, fire up my rig, and still enjoy the music. And that’s why I got into the hobby; because I love music. Sure, I drool over expensive gear and have my Lottery winner’s system all picked out. But when I hear a well recorded tune on my system, I really couldn’t wish for more. I am sure my acoustics aren’t ideal, although my room and a/c power are pretty quiet. Others have heard my system. Some liked it, some didn’t. I couldn’t care less.

 it seems we are a little "crowd" of deluded or perhaps "inspired" and "informed" people ...

 my Sansui vintage alpha 607 i  do well  for 300 bucks and my AKG K340 for 100 bucks modified are very good... As you i bought vintage pieces because of the ratio S.Q. /low cost...

I am pretty amazed by how much music can come out of vintage and/or inexpensive gear when you get things out of the way (inside) that make them sound worse.

I am also amazed how inexpensive gear can fulfill an intended purpose: musical wallpaper, surround yourself with something(s) familiar, share a tune, provide a musical upgrade over cheap earbuds, etc.  A rough facsimile of a performance is better than no performance in the "right" situation, provided enough rough burrs are filed off.